Monday, May 16, 2011

Audiences have to be journeyed throughout the sets we deliver onstage and they are not prepared to wait for the next song, they want it to all just happen for them nurturing their mood all the way. It is up to the Artist to do that! Transitions from one song to another need to be designed with the design of the set list so everyone knows where they are heading, Artist and Audience.Practice and Rehearse! I don’t know how many times I say these words to the people I work with. Nothing just happens there has to be a plan in place in order for things to run smoothly. It is unfair to the people watching us if they have to wait continuously throughout our sets. They are there to be ENTERTAINED. From the beginning you must realise that it is not all about you, it is about the audience. Everything you do from the stage is for your audience. Without an audience you have no place to go. You want the audience to journey with you.You need to establish and maintain a relationship with your audience. Let’s refer to your relationship with your audience as a marriage. You are not just dating them you are married to them, they are part of your family.You are the director of events for the duration of your performance. Your responsibilities are to love, lead, understand and surprise the audience from the time you walk on to the stage.
Your audiences become your fan base, look after the relationship, it is one of your most valuable assets as a performer.

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/tuckman.htm
I am currently doing a Certificate 4 in Music. It is very interesting and one of our first modules is related to performance and the creation of a band. As a solo artist of minimal years this is a whole new area for me so I am indeed finding it quite interesting.Looking for Members: Initial consideration for putting a band together would have to be “the what and who” we need to create the vibe. We need to look for members that will take the chance to have fun with their music onstage. We need people that we like, people that we have things in common with. Can we generate the good vibe as a TEAM in order to have fun with audiences? We need to really consider the core factors. Personalities and compatibility of personalities is a very important factor. We will spend a fair bit of time together and we want a relationship that is cool and allows us all to be creative in this joint venture.

This post is for all those who have a passion to perform but continually have difficulty in managing time frames. Time frames that allow the growth to flourish. There can be so many set backs and at times we will inevitably feel defeated, deflated and even a little depressed. Well shake off that negative energy and go forth in order to succeed.

We here at the AICM are establishing ourselves on the internet and would love everyone who visits this blog page to become our friend on FACEBOOK.http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/AICM/142857975731145
Help us build our friend base and keep in touch with what’s happening in our scene!
New blog post pending!!!

I have had a very interesting week. I have watched some students really step up and demonstrate commitment to their onstage craft development. Others that should be demonstrating previously shared knowledge are still reluctant in application. These few are confident they are doing great and are at the moment in the “no need to improve anything here” mode. I remain confident in their development, may be just a little slower.Commitment and ApplicationI want to become better than great at what I do and I want the same for them.

I want my students to be relaxed and exude the confidence of knowing what they are doing when they are onstage. I want that relaxed confidence to be part of their presence when they are performing. I want them to feel the excitement that such a relaxed confidence gives and I want their audiences to be able to bask in the aura it will create for them. An aura that only knowledge and application of the onstage fundamentals creates and generates. They don’t need to be the best at singing or dancing or juggling or any other art but they do need to be the best they can be for their audiences. To achieve this they need to seek as much knowledge as they can and take it on board working with it to improve what they do.

Many times we spend sums of money on things and watch our purchased goods or materials wear out, be thrown out or simply the novelty has worn out so they get passed off or put away. Money the eternal evil. We are at times really frivolous with it and buy the unnecessary. As we develop our OnStage Craft we appreciate the value of good tuition, equipment, clothes etc. that we need to purchase yet we baulk at the thought of spending the money. We can be scroogy and hesitate.

Hello to all once again. This is going to be just a really short thought to share.
Tim Robbins was talking on television this morning as I was preparing to leave for work and he made a really important statement that hits the nail right on the head in the performance arena.
I quote,“Always imagine that your audience members have spent their last dollars to come to your show“.
What a superb way of looking at it. They don’t have to be there but they are and for that you owe them. You owe them a grateful RESPECT . You owe them a great experience, they have spent their hard earned money. Even if there is no cover charge they will still be spending their hard earned dollars to be at the venue whether it be on food or drinks etc etc. If you view your audiences with this outlook you will deliver your best. It will always be at the forefront of your mind “I must deliver the goods“. It is a sign of your appreciation to them and in turn they will appreciate your efforts. Remember in a performers life it is not all about you. It’s not what can the audience do for you, it’s what you can do for your audience. Have fun and enjoy and they will enjoy their experience.